Following a busy summer which saw Vintage Trouble complete a 42-date tour opening for the legendary AC/DC during legs of their European and North America tours, the Los Angeles-based soul rockers recently released their second studio album, 1 Hopeful Road to rave reviews and much acclaim.

Starting with their album release performance at the Fonda Theatre on August 12, Vintage Trouble embarked on a twenty-three day headlining tour that would take them to the four corners of the United States. National Rock Review was in attendance for a number of shows starting with their show at the Music Farm in Charleston, South Carolina.

The house lights dimmed at the Music Farm in Charleston and “Are you ready?” blared from the sound system. The first of six shows in eight days was about to begin. Now with Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton’s “Hound Dog” blasting overhead, the guys of VT, Ty Taylor (vocals), Nalle Colt (guitar), Rick Barrio Dill (bass), and Richard Danielson (drums), gather on stage. Ty immediately heads to center stage, his arms overhead clapping, to the intro music and almost immediately he has everyone in the room following along. At this moment, it is clear who is in charge.

For the next almost ninety minutes, Vintage Trouble let loose with an energy and passion that completely dominates the room. Their set featured a number of songs off of 1 Hopeful Rd. including the soulful “Doing What You Were Doing,” the raucous “Angel City, California,” and the meaningful “Another Man’s Words” while mixing in a few of the older fan favorites like “Total Strangers” and “Blues Hand Me down.”

About mid-way through their set, Ty brought a couple on stage where a marriage proposal was given and accepted. While the couple danced and smiled, Ty  serenaded the couple on one knee with a tender rendition of “Gracefully” – it was a memorable moment for the happy couple.

There was also a longtime Music Farm employee by the name of Gee who recently passed away. Ty and the group dedicated a very moving and heartfelt rendition of “Nobody Told Me” to Gee’s memory. It was a touching and emotional moment for everyone.

Ty’s relentless energy was on clear display the entire evening as he was all over the stage including up on the upper balcony during “Run Like the River.” Not to be outdone, the sweet sounds of Nalle’s guitar coming from his Lazy J amps and Fender Vibratone is something to be heard in person. The solid and hard bass notes from Rick and the powerful drum lines from Richard mixed together perfectly to deliver an incredible and truly memorable performance.

After a travel day, Vintage Trouble headed into Nashville to perform at the Cannery Ballroom where a packed room of eager fans awaited.  Nashville is one of those city’s that Vintage Trouble holds a strong love for further setting up what was to be a great show.  One very special tradition Vintage Trouble does at the start of every show is the pre-Show handshake and fist bump while gathered around Richards bass drum; it’s fun to see four guys so connected right from the beginning of the show.

Tonite’s show started off with “Heavy Days,” a song that debuted during their last UK tour, before rolling into a set that again featured a number of songs off of 1 Hopeful Rd., this time including the warm “My Heart Won’t Fall Again.”

Mid-way thru the set, Ty mentioned his love for the Music City saying, “you never know who will be in the Nashville.” He followed introducing Tyler Bryant of Tyler Bryant and The Shakedown on stage for what turned out to be an epic rendition of “Run Like the River.” The overall energy and sweatiness in the room was incredible as the packed room jumped, danced, and sang as hard and as fast as the guys were performing. Vintage Trouble’s set ended with two encore songs, “Soul Serenity” and “Pelvis Pusher” leaving those in the room sweaty, messy, and thoroughly happy.

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A short drive up Interstate 65 into Louisville, Kentucky, and the Mercury Ballroom was the following night’s tour stop where a great crowd of current and future troublemakers were waiting.  The opening song was a very passionate and moving rendition of Soul Serenity which really popped for the room and set the tone for the greatness that the evening would hold. No two Vintage Trouble shows are alike and tonite was no different while they again featured songs from 1 Hopeful road they added a stirring performance of “Shows What You know” as well as adding “Nancy Lee” to the show set list.  The Mercury Ballroom has a great 2nd-floor balcony which, during “Run Like The River” saw Ty standing in the first row singing like nobody’s business while Rick, Nalle and Richard powered thru this amazing song, it was another classic and memorable moment of their set. Tonight’s show ended with two encore songs, the touching “Nobody Told Me” before knocking the doors off the joint with a powerhouse performance of “Total Strangers” which left everyone abuzz.

The following evening a small but mighty crowd welcomed Vintage Trouble to Birmingham and a great venue called “Saturn”.  Showcasing their versatility, Vintage Trouble opened their set this evening with “Soul Serenity”; this time with a more, heavier/rockier version that worked really well and started us off in a great way.  It does not matter if the crowd is 100 or 100,000, Vintage Trouble gives an outstanding, high energy performance each and every night and tonight was no exception. While there was definitely more room to dance and get messy the energy in the room was high and the performance was fantastic! Tonight’s set introduced another song from 1 Hopeful Road, the sweet sounding “before the Teardrops” that the guys clearly enjoyed performing.   Vintage Trouble ends every performance like no one else, exiting the stage right over the barrier directly into the crowd where they Hi-Five and hug fans on their way to the merchandise table where they stay until every last fan gets a chance for a picture or an autograph. It really set’s the guys apart and shows how absolutely welcoming and appreciative they are to share these performances.

Between Birmingham and Atlanta there was a quick but very meaningful stop – From Ty Taylor’s  Facebook post – He expressed the moment perfectly.

“One hopeful road that my mama showed to me from the moment I first standed.” It just so happens that our tour bus is rolling through Alabama en route to Atlanta, Georgia today and we will actually be passing 1 Hopeful Rd. We Google mapped it to see if there was really such address and there is and we will stand at its doorstep within the hour. And this on the anniversary of the day Nancy Lee gracefully walked onward away from this earth. Coincidence? I think not. Not planned though. She always lets her presence be known.   After some time for reflection, some pictures, a stop by the local sheriff the guys brought out some instruments and performed a brief acoustic rendition of “Run Like The River” it was on our way to Atlanta.  It was a truly magical  and special moment!

The second to last stop on our Tour with Vintage Trouble brought us to Terminal West in Atlanta, GA. This venue is familiar to Vintage Trouble, having played here 2 years ago and there was a large crowd in attendance including a strong representation of familiar troublemakers.  Tonite’s show was an instant classic!  While the mix of songs was familiar and similar the show and energy were off the hook tonite! Ty definitely knows how to squeeze everything from the room and the songs, alternating from powerful vocals of “Angel City, California” to tender, sweet emotion in “Nobody Told Me” or “Another Man’s words” he really feels the songs and lyrics and seems to always be at the moment.  Nalle and his signature Gretsch guitar create sounds like none other and is a perfect complement to Ty’s vocals.  Add to this the sensational Bass work from Rick and Richards wild, yet controlled drum work and you have what tonite’s show was –  a “perfect storm” t

Our final stop on our 6 shows in 8-day tour took us to The Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC. Tonite’s show opened with the emotional “Not Alright With Me” which again showcases the incredible talent of the group with the deep and meaningful lyrics and the soul touching music – what an intense way to start off a show. Tonite featured a couple “new” songs from 1 Hopeful Road;  the sweet sounds on “If You Loved Me” and “My Heart Won’t Fall Again” along with the rockin’ “Strike your Light”. The Cat’s Cradle doesn’t have a balcony for Ty to be singing from, but it does have a raised area with some tables and a bar/counter which is exactly where he ended up singing “Run Like the River” from.  The evening ended in unparalleled fashion with a wild and ferocious version of “Pelvis Pusher” that left everyone sweaty, messy and fully satisfied before exiting center stage and straight thru the crowd.

The 8 magical days with Vintage Trouble seemed to blaze by, there is just something awesome and incredible with these guys.  They are so welcoming, appreciative and real!  A live show is something everyone should go out of their way to experience!   I can still hear Ty yelling “I can’t even hear you”!

Opening for Vintage Trouble on this tour was the outstanding Singer/Songwriter Greg Holden. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland and now living in New York City, Greg along with his band (Alex Foote/Guitar, Chris Kuffner/Bass and Frederik Bokkenheuser/Drums) delivered an outstanding set each and every night of the tour.  Performing a number of songs from his recently released album Chase The Sun including “Hold on Tight” the sing-along song “Give It Away,” “Save Yourself” and “It’ll All Come out.” In the middle of his set, Greg performed acoustic versions of “Home”, a song he co-wrote with Drew Pearson that was featured on American Idol and the raw, powerful and moving “Boys in the Street” that was written for Everyone Is Gay, an organization that supports LGBTQ youth. After his set, Greg and his band were at the merchandise table signing autographs, taking pictures and talking music with anyone who came up. Greg’s music is absolutely outstanding; his lyrics are definitely intense and go straight to the heart. His performance was a great mix of rock with great feeling and emotion and his stage presence was strong. Greg definitely won over a number of fans along the tour and we were very thankful to experience his gift each night.

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Vintage Trouble
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Greg Holden
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Music Farm Charleston, SC
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Cannery Ballroom Nashville, TN
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The Mercury Ballroom  Louisville, KY
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Saturn Birmingham, AL
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Terminal West Atlanta, GA
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Cat’s Cradle  Carrboro, NC
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